“Wisconsin does not export a lot of potatoes, but when our friends out west, like Idaho, Washington, Oregon, when they can’t export then their potatoes have to stay on the domestic market which hurts everybody in the US.”

Houlihan says he’d much rather be able to not have to deal with retaliatory tariffs. “Our goal is to expand potato trade. It’s a priority over these mitigation efforts.”

Those mitigation efforts include a plan to distribute $12 billion to American farmers.

Houlihan says he’d much rather see better trade deals and reductions in tariffs rather than aid packages. He says a loss of trade now might never be restored.